Budget buzz at Buswells Hotel severely dampened by restricted access and mixed feelings

Budget buzz at Buswells Hotel severely dampened by restricted access and mixed feelings

Budget buzz at Buswells Hotel severely dampened by restricted access and mixed feelings


“I’m walking down Kildare Street, being escorted by a guard,” was a phrase the lobbyist from the Construction Industry Federation probably didn’t expect to find himself saying to a colleague over the phone on budget day. The Currency and a few others were making our way to the traditional budget watch party in Buswells Hotel on Molesworth Street. We had expected a police presence, but not the complete garda blockade of all access points to Leinster House. It wasn’t just a few moveable crowd control barriers, either, but a semi-permanent gate supported by concrete blocks, fixed to the roads and…